Yue Yin  殷 樾

Extended Land

2022

The history of humanity is a history of struggle around the land. My research on Yinjiaba (land of the Yins) made me think about terms such as landlord, land ownership, and colonialism. Living in a world where the basic logic and rules of operation are constructed by man-made terms, the role of land is so commonplace and yet so ambiguous. In recent history, human beings have encroached upon and divided the physically connected land according to the demands of different political entities and extended the rules and ambitions of the human world beyond the horizon visible to the naked eye. In other words, in this imbalanced relationship, humans began to try to override the land, digesting and defining it.
However, in a world where regional conflicts and geopolitics are increasingly valued, the ill effects of artificially defining the land are beginning to emerge. The simple and brutal division of human activities by latitude and longitude lines or border lines, without considering the history, humanity, and geography behind them, is a kind of almost murderous destruction. It not only destroys the connection between different communities and the land under their feet but also confirms a needless challenge to the slow but eternal mobility of the land. As we look around the mountains, it seems heavy and clear to rethink and reexamine this connection.
"The land is an extension of us."
"We are an extension of the land."

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